


Meet the Brother

by CarrotCesca



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: A lot of crack humors, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Family Drama, Gen, M/M, Zeke is a baseball player, a lot of cliche
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-05-20 00:36:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19366729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarrotCesca/pseuds/CarrotCesca
Summary: Very much 90s Hollywood style family drama between university student Eren, his police fiancee Levi and his quirky brother who's a baseball superstar.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Meet the Brother](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19341607) by [CarrotCesca](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarrotCesca/pseuds/CarrotCesca). 



> Under request, I began to translate my own work from Chinese to English. I'm not a native speaker so bear with me if you see anything weird. I'll put my major focus on writing the Chinese version of this story so the speed of updating here might be a bit slow.  
> As you can see in the tags above, it's basically an old-style corny family romcom. Not sure if you'd like this, but if you do, please enjoy!

Zeke Yeager rubbed the bathing towel into his wet blonde hair. He just came out of shower and went straight into the locker room, with one hand full of neatly folded jersey and caps, while the other holding a key near the cabinet door.

Zeke was not in a good mood today. His team, Liberio Warriors lost against Paradis Explorers 3:4. As the ace and team captain, Zeke had to attend a dreadful after game press conference, and then, unsurprisingly, got scolded like a dog by his manager Magath.

“What’s wrong with that old man? Does he even have a heart?” Zeke put on his T-shirt while mumbled. “It’s not like we lost the chance of entering the World Series completely, we still have two——”

At this moment, Zeke’s cell phone beeped twice. He glanced at the cabinet for a sec——

Reiner was sitting on the bench tying his shoelaces when he heard a loud noise. He originally thought it was some kind of a bomb, so he immediately turned back, and found out that it was Zeke who was holding the phone with both of his hands, trembling.

“Captain what the heck?” Reiner was confused.

“It’s my brother!” Zeke exclaimed. “Come over and see this Reiner! My brother just texted me!” He pushed the phone over towards Reiner’s face. There’s only one word in that text: Zeke.

“So that’s it? ” Reiner said with an emotionless face. “He sent one word, and your face looks like we’ve just won the World Series, no, even more exaggerated than that.”

“Oh?” Bertolt who just changed joined the party. “Is it the brother that our captain always bragged about? That college student named Eren?”

“That’s him. Wait, you’ve known his name already?”

“I’m pretty sure the custodian guy who’s currently working in the field knows his name as well. You talk about him every fucking day.”

“That’s not even the end of a sentence. He’s definitely gonna say something else.” Zeke’s eyes were still fixed on the screen. “Guys, why did he text me all of a sudden?”

“Who knows?” Reiner shrugged. “Probably to ask you for allowances, big bro.”

“I’d love him to ask me for money! That stubborn brat always talked about how he wanted to be financially independent. Since he moved outta state for college, he has never——”

The phone beeped again. While his eyes were still on the screen, Zeke’s facial expression suddenly froze.

The screen said: Zeke, I’m getting married.

-

“When he came here to visit, he got drunk and caused a mayhem on the street. He was throwing out any round-shaped object that remotely reminded him of the ball, saying ‘I’m the best pitcher in the whole world’, then of course, he ended up in the police station. It was on the news. Can’t you remember?” Eren recalled. He geared the steering wheel slightly towards the left. His car was currently on interstate highway from Paradis to Liberio.

“Not at all. The police station’s full of drunken college punks every weekend. How should I remember who’s who?” Said the man in the shotgun seat. He looked smaller than Eren, but more mature.

“Hey, I met you there when I was bailing him out that night.”

“That I remember.”

“……But you’ve never seen him? Not even on television?”

“Told you I never watch baseball. Sports’s not my thing.”

“Anyways, I forbade him from visiting my college after that incidence. ” Eren blinked. “Sometimes I feel I’m a bit too overreacted. No matter how flaky he is, He’s still my brother a.k.a. the only relative I have that is still alive.”

“Is that the reason you dragged me onto this trip even when it costs seven days of my annual vacation time?”

“Yep. I think it’s important.” Eren said in a solemn voice. “He has to be on the wedding after all. Don’t you think so, Levi?” Eren shot a look at his fiancee: Levi’s in a suit and tie while Eren only wore a white T-shirt with faded jeans. “Well, I guess that’s the answer.” He couldn’t help but reached out his hand to touch the nice fabric on Levi’s collar. “Formal outfit for this kind of weather…don’t you feel hot?”

“From what you’ve been telling me, not only is he your only relative, he also counts as half-of-a matchmaker for us, as a result I’d——”He was not able to finish his sentence, as Eren suddenly grabbed his tie and stole a kiss from him.

“Hey stupid brat! Safe driving!”

Eren released him with a smile.

“You know what could’ve happened? We haven’t seen your brother yet, and you got yourself into a car accident in which you fractured every single bone of your whole body and you cracked your head with brain plasma bursting out and you’re dead, of course. I’m not gonna take responsibility for that.” Said Levi while putting his hand on the kissed lips. With all the sarcastic remarks, he still had to admit in secret that he felt a sense of sweetness and pleasure from Eren’s action.

-

Eren parked the car near the front gate of a luxurious mansion.

Levi looked around at the exquisite decoration of that mansion and a large garden surrounding it. “The baseball star really knows how to get money.” He commented.

“Not surprised.” Eren said while typing on his phone.”He’s one of the best pitchers in the league.”

He clicked the send button and heard the sound of stomping stairs right away. The gate opened in 10 seconds.

“Eren, welcome back!” With his beach shirt and leisure shorts, Zeke looked like he just finished showering. He opened his arms and was about to give his little brother a big hug, then he saw Levi on the side scratching his hair while staring at Zeke with eyes like a dead fish. Zeke paused his action all at once with that open-arm gesture rigid.

“It’s you!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'ed. Will edit in future.

Paradis is a college town where school buildings locate sporadically around the city. The city is small, with only one main avenue running through the center. Downtown area is always crowded during game nights. Students come into bars in groups to have a good drink and cheer for the local proud: the team of Paradis Explorers, 3 times champion of the World Series. 

After sending Eren off to his evening class, Zeke pulled his cap down and went with the flow into a bar downtown.

Students and bartenders had their eyes sticked to the big screen during the close match. Not a single person recognized Zeke despite him being the superstar from Paradis’s rival team. It seemed that contact lens worked out well as a way of disguise. Zeke felt rejoiced about that. If it hadn’t been his wrist injury of which he needed recovery time, he would not be able to fly away from Liberio to visit his dear brother. He didn’t want to get recognized and cause trouble for Eren, but with more and more cups of whiskey in his stomach, while watching the Explorers falling way behind in the ongoing game, he started to feel a bit differently. He could not remember how many cups he had been taking. The only thing he remembered was that he paid the check and staggered back on the street with half of his mind spiraling in the air. He was surely excited.

Zeke lifted his head up. Everything was obscure in his eyes. Thousands of colors mixed up together until it became rainbow-like neon flashes. Zeke faintly felt that he was in the middle of the field with thousands of stadium crowd cheering for him. He absent-mindedly grabbed a bunch of pebbles from the road verge. Then he threw the pebbles——the ball——towards the students who were leaving the bars——the catcher, wait but there’re so many of them, whatever——threw towards them.

It’s a strike!

The recovery training was surely effective. Zeke said to himself with a grand smile.

“I am the, best pitcha…blurp…” Zeke rambled. He didn’t notice students were screaming and running away from him. “best pitcher, in the whole world.”

Seemed like someone was calling out his name. Were they jubilating for him? Zeke grabbed another full hand of pebbles. “Are you here to see…” he burped. “…see the performance of the world’s best pitcher? Watch close——”

A perfect throw!

He heard the sound of police siren louder and louder. He wondered if they were also here for the show. 

Did you see that Magath? Look how many people are here just to appreciate my skillful play. There should be no time for me to be back on track!

“Watch me finish a perfect game!” Zeke shouted out. Another full hand of pebbles——a baseball with a bit irregular shape, that’s strange. Zeke pondered for a second, then decided to throw them out towards a group of uniformed catchers.

They seemed to be stunned, staying at their place without moving an inch. Zeke laughed. “Eren, are you watching the live TV? Let your brother show you how to throw a perfect…” Zeke felt something knocked his nape heavily when he was about to pronounce “game”. His wrists were tied behind his back in the next second. He felt that the effect of alcohol was fading. The obscure view was getting clearer and clearer.

“Fucking shit. What a pain in the ass…” A voice sounded behind Zeke.

He turned around with a fearful face. It was an officer with noticeably shorter-than-average height. One of his hand locked the handcuffs, the other captured Zeke's shoulder firmly. He was quite good-looking. His expression was otherwise annoyed and dismissive.

“Oi, you guys.” Said the man who booted Zeke’s calf causing him to fall upon his knees. “Take this drunkard back to the office. Have to head west. Erwin just called and said a new case popped up there.”

“Yes, Captain Ackerman!”

“As for you…” Ackerman sneered, giving Zeke another good kick. “Enjoy your time in jail.” Ackerman then left in a hurry, leaving Zeke surrounded by whispering students and a few sports journalists who had learned about the news so fast from god-knows-where.

A surge of mixture of regret and shame suddenly swelled into Zeke's brain. He would never  forget the pain that man had inflicted on him. He would never forget that face. Never.

Thank God he didn’t have to stuck in Paradis forever. Once he’s back home, he’d never see this Ackerman dude ever again. Thank God.

-

That was what happened two years ago.

Now, this Ackerman dude became his dearest brother’s fiancee. With a suit and tie, he sit majestically across from Zeke on the marble chair that he recently bought. He stared at the table frowning, then pulled out a disposable towel and started to clean the surface.

He’s acting like he’s at his own house! What an arrogant douche! Zeke felt that he was going to explode at any moment.

“So that’s how you two met each other? What a coincidence!” Eren’s laugh interrupted Zeke’s self-indulging frustration. He eyed Eren but the boy did not seem to notice. His little brother was staring at Levi with the loveliest expression he could ever imagine. Eren raised his hand to sweep Levi’s hair beneath his ear. A typical lovestruck couple they are——how gross.

“Nope.” Levi caught Eren’s sneaky hand, pushing it at the table. He looked a bit unnatural. “I technically hadn’t known your brother until today. I couldn’t remember how he looked, nor could I remember that I fought with him before. You know what my job’s like Eren. We handle tons of cases each day. I wouldn’t really waste my brain remembering every drunkard’s appearance.”

“Drunkard?” Zeke rebutted. “A sportsman shall always be accountable for his own body. I don’t drink that much. I was just too excited to see Eren.”

“You got me dragged into that mess. However, speaking in hindsight, I have to say thank you.” Eren smiled. “If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have met Levi. At that time….”

-

The front desk of Paradis police department.

“It’s not anything serious. Once you fill out all those forms and hand in the bail, he’ll be out in no time.”

“Alright.” There were a thick pile of forms in front of the teenage boy in green jacket. He angled his head down, pen scrawling anxiously on papers.

“Zeke Yeager’s brother? Are you for real?” Across from teenager stood an officer with eye glasses and ponytail. She asked with enthusiasm.

“Who else could I be? A random guy coming all the way to PPD at middle of the night just to save his ass?”

“Okay, okay. I thought he’s only good at his job, not too much of a tabloid favorite.”

“Coz he’s boring. No criminal records, no colorful relationship history, what could tabloid write about? Oh, they should have something to write about now after this. Thanks to Paradis police department. He’s gonna be at the headline tomorrow woo-hoo——There you go, I just finished.” The boy pushed the paper pile towards the officer. He then took out an ID from his shoulder bag. “Here’s my driver’s license. Please have a look.”

“Sure. Eren Yeager…” The officer read. “17 years old? Um…”

“What?”

“I’m very sorry, but the signature from a minor doesn’t have legal effect. We need it from your legal guardian. Please call your parents——”

“They passed away long time ago. Zeke is my legal guardian.”

“Any other adult relatives such as uncle or aunt?”

“Nope.”

The officer looked at Eren with a sorry face. Eren stared back, calmly, without a hint of compromised or skittish looking. Stagnation started to fill the air.

A blasting noise suddenly sounded from the gate, breaking silence in the room.

“Captain Hange!”

Eren turned back his head. There were two officers just arrived at the station, the female one with light-brown hair was helping the male officer stand by holding his arms. The male officer’s shoulder was covered with blood.

“What happened?” The officer named Hange ran towards the door. “Why do you send him here instead of hospital?”

“Happened in car just now. The convict somehow opened the lock of handcuffs, then took a knife straight towards Aurou’s neck. Captain Levi reacted immediately, took the cut himself to get the convict under control.” The brown-haired officer said with panting. She gradually alleviated the weight from her shoulders, carefully laying Levi on a nearby sofa. “Our car was super close to the station then. Google map said the nearest hospital was one-hour away. We talked a bit and decided not to change the route.”

“Thanks, Petra.” Hange comforted her. “But we still have to——”

“We need to send captain Levi to our emergency room immediately!” Petra cried out anxiously. “Where’s our doctor?”

“Our doctor’s off today. That’s why I asked you to send Levi to hospital.”

“I’m…fine…” Levi’s voice was barely audible. Drops of sweat were visible on his forehead.

“You call it fine when you’re still bleeding?” Eren interrupted. He dashed to Levi’s side, went down with one knee and tore a big hole in Levi’s uniform that had already turned dark red. Eren leaned in to examine the cut clearer. His green eyes widen, breath held, then he asserted “His wounds need treatment now, unless you want to see him amputated.”

“Why do we have a kid in the office?” Levi said weakly. He tried waving his arm to drive Eren away, but found that he did not have the strength to lift it up.

“You got hydrogen peroxide here? Iodine would also work. I have some surgical instruments and gauze rolls that could be useful.” Said Eren when he took out a small medical kit from his shoulder bag.

Petra eyed Hange with doubt. After Hange nodded in approval, Petra replied: “There are some. I’ll go grab them here.”

-

“That should be good for now.” Eren cut the last piece of gauze roll on Levi’s shoulder. “Go take him to the hospital.”

“That was incredible! Eren.” Hange patted his shoulder and said. “Where did you learn this from?”

“I’m a pre-med student from Paradis University, just an amateur.” Eren paused for a little, then added: “My dad had a clinic before he passed away. I picked up some skills from him as well.”

“Anyways, we have to leave now, but your brother…”

“The injured is more important. Zeke can easily survive in another two hours.” Eren shrugged. “I’ll wait you here. Oh by the way, my signature…”

“I have to admit. You were more mature than an adult could ever be. Aren’t you turning eighteen in a few months?”

Eren opened his mouth, was about to say something when he felt a force dragging his shirt and caused him to fall on the sofa. He turned around. It was the injured officer named Levi.

“Brat…” His voice sounded more stable than before. “I owe you this one. Give me your number so I can treat you for dinner sometime.”

They were too close. Eren finally had the chance to carefully examine—appreciate Levi’s handsome face. Yes, he’s quite good-looking. Eren had to admit it. “Sure. My phone number is…”

-

“So that’s why I stayed there for another 5 hours?” Zeke rolled his eyes, feeling unfair about the situation. 

“I found that reasonable enough.” Eren said carelessly while sticking his fork into a small piece of steak.

“Of course reasonable, and so very romantic. What a romantic encounter it was!” Zeke replied with a clear hint of sarcasm. He glanced at Eren, who was too busy enjoying the food to care about his blonde brother’s tone of voice.

“…I’m done.” Levi said mechanically. It was obvious for him to notice the sourness in Zeke’s words.

Okay. It would also be nice if he noticed that. This place does not welcome him. Zeke contemplated. How can I let my dearest brother get fooled by a middle-aged man who’s more than ten years older than him? He’s only 19, only a baby…Well, I can’t see him getting hurt. Have to think of some way to let him realize how selfish an old man could be ——The image of his much hated father flashed in his thoughts ——Yeah, selfish like him…But what to do, what to do…

Zeke started to scheme a plot in his head.


End file.
